


Merry Christmas Darling

by benjji2795



Series: Zimbits [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Christmas songs, Distance, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-06 04:52:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5403773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjji2795/pseuds/benjji2795
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Bitty can’t help picking up a few lines of the song currently playing, grimacing at the overt cheeriness of the song and its lyrics.  He can hardly call it the “most wonderful time of the year” when he’s faced with the prospect of spending the entirety of it without his boyfriend.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merry Christmas Darling

**Author's Note:**

> So I was listening to my Christmas music the other day while trying to think of ideas for a fic, and when I heard [Merry Christmas Darling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1ujXx2p-I) and was struck by this idea. I hope it's not too terrible...I was going for fluff and I feel like I got something else instead...anyway, all comments about characterizations and story and such are greatly appreciated. Unbeta-ed, so apologies for any mistakes.
> 
> (Other song mentioned in the fic is [The Most Wonderful Time of the Year](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVigJIIbPiw))

**_December 22 nd_ **

Music played softly in the background as Eric flitted around his Mama’s kitchen, trying to keep busy and bury all of his emotion in a mountain of flour, mounds of sugar and enough butter to fill a small bathtub when melted.  It was turning out to be a difficult task, as every Christmas song that played seemed to be taunting him, screaming at him that it’s Christmas and he should be happy, even though he really wasn’t.

_It’s the most wonderful time of the year!_

_With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer!_

_It’s the most wonderful time of the year!_

 

Bitty can’t help picking up a few lines of the song currently playing, grimacing at the overt cheeriness of the song and its lyrics.  He can hardly call it the “most wonderful time of the year” when he’s faced with the prospect of spending the entirety of it without his boyfriend.

 

Bitty jabbed at the screen of his phone, skipping ahead to the next song on his Christmas playlist.

 

_Greeting cards have all been sent_

_The Christmas rush is through_

_But I still have one wish to make_

_A special one_

_For you_

 

Bitty stopped and sighed, leaning up against the counter as he listened to the soft piano, the easy, almost melancholy melody of the song and Karen Carpenter’s smooth, soft voice.

 

_Merry Christmas darling_

_We’re apart, that’s true_

_But I can dream, and in my dreams_

_I’m Christmasing with you_

_Holidays are joyful_

_There’s always something new_

_But every day’s a holiday_

_When I’m near to you_

_Oh the lights on my tree_

_I wish you could see_

_I wish it every day_

_The logs on the fire, fill me with desire_

_To see you and to say:_

_That I wish Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too_

_I’ve just one wish on this Christmas Eve_

_I wish I were with you_

 

Bitty bit his lip, fighting back the pressure building behind his eyes.  He knew that being with Jack was never going to be easy, but some times the feelings of loneliness hit him harder than others. Christmas was a time for family, and even though his parents and cousins surrounded him, his arms ached to be around the most important member of his family, who was instead, painfully absent.

 

_The logs on the fire, fill me with desire_

_To see you and to say:_

_That I wish you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too_

_I’ve just one wish on this Christmas Eve_

_I wish I were with you_

_I wish I were with you_

_Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas_

_Merry Christmas, d_ _arling_

It happened before he could stop it, the tears starting to roll down his cheeks while the last strains of the song echoed wistfully in his ears, as he thought about Jack and how he hadn’t seen him in a week and a half and how much it hurts they can’t be together on Christmas. Missing Jack had never hit him this hard before, but then again, in the years they'd been together, they'd never had to be apart on Christmas before.

 

“I know Dicky,” his mom murmured, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.

 

“I’m sorry Mama,” Bitty said, his voice shaking as he turned to give her a weak smile.  He’s glad he’s here with his parents at least. That was better than spending Christmas in his and Jack’s apartment alone.

 

“Don't be honey," she answered.  "I understand how hard this is."

 

"Yeah it is...but I'll be fine."

 

Are you sure?”

 

“I—,” Bitty began before the oven timer went off and provided a convenient interruption. Managing a much more convincing smile than a moment ago, Bitty shrugged off his mother’s arm and quickly busied himself in baking again.  He waited until she was out of sight to grab his phone, pulling up the song on Youtube and texting the link to Jack along with a simple _I miss you <3_.  That, combined with the music and lyrics of the song, could express what he was feeling now better than any of his own words ever could.

* * *

Jack was beyond frustrated with the NHL scheduling committee.  Had been since the schedule came out over the summer.  He was sitting on one of the beds in his hotel room, stewing over the fact that this is where he was going to have to spend Christmas, since they were told, in no uncertain terms by team management, that they were not to leave the immediate area.  So he was being forced to spend Christmas in some cold, impersonal hotel, more than a thousand miles away from where he really wanted to be.

 

“Hey, a couple of the guys are going out for drinks.  You wanna come?” one of his teammates and his roommate on road trips, Teddy, said, peeking his head through the door of their room.

 

“Um, no thanks,” Jack replied. He’d much rather use this free time to call Bitty.

 

“Alright, suit yourself,” Teddy shrugged. “Say hey to Bits for me.”

 

“Will do,” Jack mumbled distractedly, pulling out his phone as the door shut.  When he looked, he can see that there was already a text from Bitty.

 

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1ujXx2p-I_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1ujXx2p-I)

_I miss you <3_

 

Jack clicks the link and swallows hard.  _Merry Christmas Darling_ by Carpenters. He hadn’t heard this song in a long time, but there was a faint memory hidden in the back of his mind of when he was young and his mom was listening to it by herself on a Christmas Eve and crying on the couch.  He thought about Bitty, listening to this song and maybe crying in his bedroom of his parent’s house and suddenly Jack’s chest felt very tight.

 

While he was lying there, thinking about Bitty, his frustration fading into almost downright misery, his phone rang and he didn’t hesitate to pick up immediately.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Jack, honey?”

 

The fact that it wasn’t Bitty’s voice and was actually his mom's answering him instead made Jack sit up quickly and grip his phone tighter.

 

“Is everything alright Mrs. B—Suzanne?” Jack asked, his hands beginning to tremble ever so slightly.

 

“Yes sweetheart, everything’s alright,” Suzanne said softly.  “He just misses you terribly.”

 

Jack exhaled in relief and then replied. “I really miss him too.” He was biting his bottom lip and clenching his fists, fighting to keep his composure while he was on the phone with Bitty’s mother.  “But I have a feeling you didn’t call me just to tell me that.”

 

“No, I sure as heck didn’t,” Suzanne chuckled slightly.  “Poor thing, spendin' most of his time in the kitchen, bakin' the sadness away."

 

"Oh um," Jack swallowed, having a hard time getting a response out around the lump that had formed in his throat

 

"Dear, are you sure there isn’t any chance you can come down here for Christmas?”

 

“I don’t—”

 

“You don’t have any strings you can pull?”

 

_Now there was an idea._

 

“Um, I think there might be something,” Jack answered hesitantly.  “I uh—give me some time and—yeah.  Just don’t tell Bitty anything in case it...”

 

“My lips are sealed honey." Suzanne said, and Jack could hear the smile in her voice.  "Let me know if you'll be needin' a ride from the airport.”

 

“Okay, I will.”

 

“Hopefully we’ll be seein’ you soon.”

 

“Yeah,” Jack acknowledged, hanging up and then immediately pressing the phone back up to his ear.

 

“Papa?”

 

“Hey son, what’s up?”

 

“Do you think you could do me a favor?” Jack requested softly.  His whole life, Jack had hated the idea of using his dad’s name to get what he wanted. But when he was facing the prospect of him and Bitty spending Christmas alone and miserable, there doesn't have any hesitation at all.

 

“Anything. What do you need?”

 

“I need—I need you to call the team and—and see if you can get them to let me come home for Christmas.”

 

“I can do that but...just so I understand—you’re not actually going to be coming to Montreal, are you?”

 

“No,” Jack answered quietly.

 

“Bitty?”

 

“Yeah,” Jack mumbled.

 

“Took you long enough to ask me,” Bob chuckled.

  
“Well I don’t like—”

 

“I know son,” Bob said gently, and Jack can imagine his dad reaching out to grab his shoulder if he had been in the same room.  “Your mother was never much for that either.  Go ahead and get your flight and I’ll take care of it.”

 

“Thanks Papa.”

 

“Don’t mention it,” Bob responded, and then hung up.

 

Once he did, Jack immediately texted Suzanne:

 

_I’ll be in on the first available flight after my game tomorrow_

As Jack waited for the reply, he pulled out his laptop and began searching for flights to Atlanta. They have an afternoon game so he should be able to fly out by 8:00.  He saw that there was a flight for 8:10 and Jack doesn’t hesitate to purchase a ticket. He won’t be in Madison until very late then, but Jack was willing to deal with that if it meant he can spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with Bitty.

_Wonderful. See you soon dear_

* * *

**_December 23rd_ **

Jack was panicking just a little. He hadn’t anticipated the game would go into overtime and then a shootout so he was being dropped off at the airport with just under 15 minutes left to make his flight.  He was running across the terminal as fast as he can manage, before being distracted momentarily when his phone rings.

 

“Hello?” Jack answered breathlessly, slowing his pace to a brisk walk.

 

“Hey Jack.”

 

It’s Bitty, which, _shit_ , Jack doesn’t know how he’s going to explain that he can’t talk right now.  Jack really wants this all to be a surprise to Bitty.

 

“Hey, I—I can’t talk—right now,” Jack responds quickly.

 

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” Bitty exclaims, trying to sound cheery, but Jack can hear the disappointment apparent in his tone.

 

“Yeah, I’m uh—out with the guys. I’ll call you back later—when we get back to the hotel,” Jack explained, hoping the background noise of the airport was enough to make his lie convincing.

 

“Yeah okay,” Bitty replied.  Jack pictured the slight frown on Bitty’s face and had to work very hard to convince himself not to tell Bitty he was on his way to Georgia right then and there. “I love you," Bitty added tersely.

 

“Love you too, bye,” Jack said rapidly, hanging up the phone as he entered the line for security.

* * *

 

Bitty had been hoping that he’d have the chance to talk to Jack for a while.  Jack wasn’t usually one for going out after away games, often opting to call or Skype instead.  And given the situation, Bitty assumed that Jack would be extra eager to stick to that routine. Jack had never responded to his text the day before and was out partying with the team now, so Bitty guessed that he was doing just fine facing the prospect of spending Christmas (Eve) without him while he was miserable (which was starting to piss him off).

 

Bitty’s mom invited him to come out of his room to watch a Christmas movie with them, but Bitty decided he’d rather stay in his room and—he wasn’t moping, he was just—okay, he _was_ moping, but he also didn’t care. Bitty tossed on one of Jack’s sweatshirts, pulling the hood around and shoving it in his face, breathing in the smell of Jack as he climbed into bed, clutching Señor Bun close to his chest in the absence of having Jack to wrap his arms around.

 

It didn’t take him long to drift off to sleep and when he woke up, it was close to 11:30. Checking his phone, Bitty heaved out a long sigh when he saw there wasn’t a missed call while he was sleeping. Jack still hadn't called.  Did he not miss him at all?  Rationally, he knew that wasn't true, but in the face of overwhelming emotion, it was hard to think rationally.  He was just about to angrily toss his phone aside when it rang.

 

“I really miss you,” Bitty said with a slight edge when he answered the phone, knowing that only Jack could be calling him at this time of night.

 

“I miss you too Bitty,” Jack answered, and Bitty felt his small flare of anger grow, because it sounded like Jack was smiling as he said it.  Here he was, miserable, and Jack was just hunky-dory.

 

“It doesn’t sound like it,” Bitty spat.

 

“There’s a good reason for that,” Jack replied, and it sounded like he was smirking.  Bitty opened his mouth to spit venom at Jack again when his bedroom door opened.  “It’s hard to miss you when you’re right here in front of me.”

 

“Jack?” Bitty questioned, rubbing harshly at his eyes as his mouth dropped open.

 

“Yeah,” Jack smiled, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge.

 

“But I thought you said you couldn’t—”

 

“I called in a favor,” Jack shrugged.

 

“Meaning?”

 

“I called my dad,” Jack answered sheepishly, and even though it was dark, Bitty knew he was getting one of the rare Jack Zimmermann blushes.

 

“But—but you hate using your dad’s name to get things.  Why would you do that for me?”

 

“There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you Eric,” Jack whispered, leaning in to kiss him softly. Bitty reached up and snaked his arms around Jack’s neck, pulling him down onto the bed.

 

“I love you,” Bitty said, because that was the only thing that came close to expressing everything he was feeling.

 

“I love you too,” Jack sighs, sinking into the mattress next to Bitty.  Jack quickly shucked his shoes and pants, turning over to let Bitty curl up into him.  “Merry Christmas, darling,” he added.  Jack had never used that kind of term of endearment toward Bitty before, but it was something that just fit, considering that if it hadn’t been for the song, Jack probably wouldn’t even be here right now.

 

“You actually got my text,” Bitty said, sounding thoroughly surprised.

 

“Yeah.  That was the whole reason I came down here.”

 

“It really means a lot to me.”

 

“I—that song made me remember my mom spending Christmases’ alone when I was a kid and—I just couldn’t stand the thought of making you do that.”

 

Bitty opened his mouth like he was going to reply, but instead he leaned over and kissed Jack.

 

“Merry Christmas Jack,” he said before snuggling his head into Jack’s chest, sighing contentedly.  Jack placed a gentle kiss on the top of Bitty's head before closing his eyes, glad that he made the decision to come here instead of being at the team hotel.


End file.
